Hero Academia Hetalia
by tentillAftershock
Summary: "We are more than just human. We are nations." It's hard being a hero nation, but it's also fun, sad, frustrating, hilarious, scary, beautiful, and everything else that comes with being human. Join the personifications in a world of quirks, heroes, and villains in the world of Hero Academia Hetalia, series of one-shots and short stories in no particular order.
1. Born A Freak (Den, Su)

Born A Freak

It was always painful. Maybe it hadn't hurt a long time ago, but that time was so far in the past that it could have been a different life. How long ago had this "ability" of mine manifested? I had always been a freak; that, I had been made aware of from the very beginning of my now seemingly immortal life. My first memories were not of crying in a mother's arms but awakening in the middle of a forest next to the sea. I had known what those things were. I had known the sea. I had known the forest and the sky, and I had known how to hunt and survive on my own, how to make a shelter, and even the feeling of a family and friends.

But although I had all this knowledge, I knew not who or what I was or where I belonged. Whenever I walked the land, I felt oddly connected to it. Whenever I talked to the humans I knew at least looked the same as me, I felt oddly connected to them without even knowing who they were as individuals, but I never truly belonged anywhere. I lived apart from the other humans because I knew I was different. I was just a tiny child then. I seemed to forever be stuck as a child barely over the age of 5, but I knew as I observed the other children grow older that my actual age was far different. The villagers never really looked at me with derision then, for my existence was comforting for some reason rather than frightening, a sprite, they called me. That was until my power manifested.

One of my children friends and I were out in the woods when we were ambushed by raiders from an enemy village. In order to protect my friend, I had come between him and the crudely-made sword aimed to kill. The beginning of that memory was filled with my blood pouring out of the deep cut down my chest…and pain. The rest was filled with fear, loathing, and more pain. I remember falling, my friend trying to run, the men catching him, and the red that coated the ground as my friend too was cut down in front of my failing vision. I remember stumbling to my feet, tears, and then grabbing one of the men with my right hand in order to stop him from doing anything further. Then, there were screams. The man I was grabbing suddenly began letting out blood curdling screams and trying to wrench my hand off by any means. I remember the pain lessening then for some reason whilst the agony of the man before me only seemed to intensify. The other men's faces who were about to help their accomplice suddenly turned to horror when the man tried to stab me again and I grabbed his arm with my other hand, still clinging to him with my right. The man went rigid as if a massive shock had just been delivered to his entire body and crumpled to the ground, eyes rolled to the back of his head and drool and blood slowly dribbling out of his mouth. The other men ran off screaming into the forest as I stared after them and then at my hands in shock.

I ran to my friend, but he was already fading. Without thinking, I timidly reached out with my left hand to touch my friend to check for signs of life. At my touch, pain shot through my entire body and I recoiled as if touching a burning pan. My friend, however, stirred and stared at me with wide eyes. He glanced down at his body which was still gushing blood and then back at me. I wanted to say something, but my body was trembling with so much pain, I couldn't get any words out. I was too scared…of me, the situation, for my friend…I could barely think straight. Then my friend pushed his tiny body up, blood pouring out of his wound from the motion, but it was as if he didn't even notice. He knelt toward me and grabbed my right hand, probably to comfort me. Instantly, the physical pain began to lessen, but my friend…I'll never forget the look on his face when he started screaming just like the man had and clutching at his wound before he died right in front of me.

After that, I was alone. I distanced myself from the villagers after I had to bring my dead friend back to his family. The horror on their faces, the coldness of my friend, the isolation I already felt forming from the moment those men had run from me in terror…I'll never forget them. What am I? Why…so many different why's. I remember walking away, the wound already healing on my un-aging 5 year old chest but the pain ever so vivid in my mind, though I couldn't feel it physically anymore. I made a vow then and there to never touch anyone with my right hand again. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but at least where my left seemed to only hurt me, my right had killed my friend and caused those screams of agony. I didn't want to think what both had done.

I wandered to further villages but never touched anyone with anything but my left. Every time, more pain would wrack my body. It would fade to a dull ache after a while, but it would never fully fade. It got to the point where I refused to touch anyone at all. I wandered alone with my tired and weakening 5 year old body wondering if I could die. Through all the years and through all the pain, death would never find me. Why should someone like me never get old and die like all the rest? I can't even die from normal wounds. I'm a freak and I will forever be alone. And then, one day, I met him. It was a particularly cold day, and I was wondering if maybe today would be the day I die.

"If I fall asleep in the snow, would I die?" I mumbled to myself.

"That's a morbid thought," a cheery voice shattered my dazed meandering and I shot my head up to see a kid a couple years older than myself with wild spikey blonde hair and clear sky blue eyes grinning at me while propping an over-sized but actually rather lavish greataxe over his shoulder. He seemed to like the color red, because his cloak and tunic were varying shades of the color.

"W-who?! What the heck are you doing out here?!" I stumbled over my words in surprise as I quickly shoved my hands under my cloak out of instinct.

"I could ask you the same thing," he jauntily snickered while never losing his sunny grin.

"N…none of your business…" I sulked, extremely put-off by his merry attitude during my time of deep depression. "Sorry I asked."

"Heh, sorry sorry. I didn't mean to intrude or anything. I just found it odd to find such a young kid wanderin around the forest alone in this weather," he explained politely yet playfully.

Kid? This child barely older than me is calling me that's lived probably ten times his age a kid? What nonsense. He couldn't understand anything. At least, that's what I thought at the time.

"I'm not a kid," is how I chose to respond instead. "Now leave me alone."

The spikey-haired kid's eyes widened rather comically at that, and instead of leaving me alone like I asked, it seemed to only intrigue him further.

"Not a kid?! You're like…" He lifted up his free hand and started counting on his fingers. "…at least four or five years younger than me! And don't get what I said wrong either. I'm totally a kid too!" He puffed out his chest as if that was a thing of pride. "A strong, lovable kid!" he added with a confirming nod of his head and a wide grin.

"Are you sure you're older than me?" I deadpanned, not in the least impressed.

"Ah, Sve! You're killin me…huh?" he was cut off by his own revelation of what just happened.

"What did you just call me?" I narrowed my eyes at the slightly confused but still cheery fool in front of me. What the hell was a Sve?

"Sve…" I watched him roll the word around his tongue a little as if he was experimenting with its pronunciation. "I don't know. It just came out!" He beamed at me like it was such a trivial matter. "I just seem to know that you're Sverige and it came out Sve cuz it sounds cuter kakaka!"

"Sverige? I'll ask again. What the hell is a Sverige?" I pressed in so much frustration that I completely disregarded the 'cuter' comment.

"Geez, you're so uptight. Loosen that crease between your eyebrows a little Sve!" the boy I still knew nothing about but was getting awfully familiar with me held out his hand to poke between my eyebrows.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I jumped back and curled my cloak tighter around my body on instinct.

The wind suddenly picked up around me and I saw the boy that had been so relaxed and cheerful standing there, axe at the ready in a stance fully prepared to defend himself. He looked more surprised than anything else though and quickly lowered his weapon again at the sight of me huddled in on myself. I noticed the wind suddenly die down again and I glanced nervously between the boy and the trees around me, planning a possible escape route.

"Wait! I'm sorry. People are always tellin me I come on too strong most of the time. I just don't think it's worth mopin around when life can be so great! I didn't mean to make ya feel uncomfortable." He relaxed his stance and shifted his axe back to his shoulder, the bright grin once again returning to his face.

"What do you mean life can be so great?" I shot back at him. "You call me Sverige, but what do you know about me? I know nothing about you! What makes you think you can get so familiar?"

I was beyond annoyed at this point. I was furious. Why was this boy allowed to be so happy while I suffered alone in the dark? What did he know about my 'moping?' How dare he barge into my life calling me Sverige and smiling at me with that stupid grin and that stupid laugh!

"Because…you're just like me no?" his grin faded at this and he cocked his head to the side, furrowing his brow in contemplation. "At least…I think you are. Are you?"

What does that even mean? How the hell am I supposed to know if we're the same or not? How could we be? I'm a basically immortal being with a freakish power that also heals extremely fast. How are we the same?

"We're nothing alike…" I answered. "You'll never understand me."

"Wait, but I really do have this feelin that…" he started.

"NO! I don't know why you even stopped to talk to me for this long. I was just minding my own business when you interrupted me and invaded my privacy with your loud, obnoxious presence!" I growled at him. I don't know why I was being so overly flippant with just this one boy, but him acting so friendly in my solitude only made me want to close my mind more. The pain that had been dull and almost forgotten when the boy had first arrived was flaring up now and all I wanted to do was get away. "Just…LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I turned to leave and started stalking back the way I had come, but I didn't get far. Before I could properly react, he had dropped his axe on the ground and raced to catch up to me and grabbed my right hand in his haste to stop me. It was going to happen again. The memories of pain and fear came back all at once and it clouded my mind so much, I couldn't even pull my hand away.

The cheery kid tensed up and his eyes went wide, but he didn't let go of my hand. He began to grimace and I could see sweat forming on his brow. Slowly, I could see him start to wobble until he ended up on his knees, but he still never let go of my hand. When I started feeling lighter than I had in years, it finally clicked.

"I…IDIOT! Let go!" I shouted and struggled to free my hand from the surprisingly tough stranglehold he had on it. It was difficult without the use of my other hand. I couldn't risk touching him with both. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Finally, the kid released my hand, panting and sweating as if he had just run a marathon. His eyes were shadowed and his shoulders sagged a little as I backed off in horror, gripping my hand as if that could contain its monstrous power.

"I'm sorry…" my voice was trembling as I was trying to hold back the tears. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen…I told you you could never understand me…I'm sorry…"

" _Hold kæft…_ " It was barely a whisper, but the boy had said something.

"I'm sorry…" was all I could continue to say.

" _Det er sgu rigtigt…_ " came the mumbled reply.

"What do you mean 'it's damn true'?" I instinctively inquired.

Wait…that wasn't just gibberish to me? It didn't sound like the language I was used to. How did I understand?

"And I thought MY power was rough…" the kid finally calmed his breathing a little more and wiped the sweat off his face. "What the heck was that?"

"Wait…you…you aren't afraid? Or disgusted? And…you have a power too?" I almost couldn't get my questions out fast enough. My fear was shoved aside in my haste to understand.

"Well…I'm goin to be honest. It was a little jarring, but I wouldn't be afraid of someone like you that obviously doesn't want to intentionally hurt anyone with your power and is doing his best all on his own in order to protect everyone," he smiled a genuine smile and pushed himself back to standing, albeit a little wobbly, but standing nonetheless. "And yeah, I have a power as well. I've had it ever since I can remember. It can be extremely destructive and I can't control it all the time, but I've grown to embrace it and I've learned a lot because of it. Did you know I can sail?"

"Sail?" I just responded mechanically. I couldn't even get my thoughts straight. My emotions were flying in a thousand different directions at once: curiosity at his power, joy from his compliment, fear from the scars of my past, anger still from his annoying antics, laughter at his comical expressions as he boasted about himself, sadness at possibly hurting someone, confusion because it seemed like I hadn't, excitement about finding someone that maybe actually could understand me…

"Yeah! I can basically control the wind. Pretty cool huh? I've learned how to build what is apparently called a ship and use the wind to carry me along the water. It's so much fun!" his eyes lit up as he recounted some of his adventures. "And I am tryin to learn how to fly…but I kind of suck at it at the moment. Don't tell my ego that," and he winked as though his own self couldn't hear himself talking.

"You uh…talk a lot don't you…" I couldn't help but say even though I really did want to hear more.

"Do I? I've never really talked to a fellow nation before, so I'm kind of excited," he shrugged half-heartedly.

"A…nation?" I asked. Is that what I was? Was I finally going to find out who I am?

"Yeah…I had a hard time finding out what I was too, but the wind told me," the kid smiled fondly at this and the wind seemed to respond in kind as it swirled around him playfully.

"You can hear what the wind says? I'm sorry…you're answering so many of my questions and I don't even know who you are…" I ashamedly stared at the ground between us.

A loud smack echoed through the trees and I looked up to see the kid facepalming so hard, a small red hand print could be seen spreading from between his fingers.

"I'm so sorry! I never introduced myself…I got so caught up in the moment," the kid looked genuinely flustered for a little as he readjusted himself as if he had walked into the conversation for the first time. "Eh hem…hello Sverige, it is nice to meet ya. My name is Mathias Kholer, also known as the great nation of Danmark."

At that, the kid apparently known as Danmark held out his hand expectantly, but I couldn't help but hesitate again.

"Er…Danmark? Mathias?...what do I call you?" I started, staring at the kid called Danmark's hand like it was a foreign object.

"You really could call me anythin you want. That's basically what I do with others anyways," he smiled.

"Ok…um…Dan…I can't…er more like I won't shake your hand. That contact we had already was a mistake…my power is…" I fumbled along.

"Oh, I kind of forgot already kakaka," Dan laughed it off, but I could see the sweat still dripping down the side of his face and the slight darkness now visible beneath his eyes that were so flawlessly bright before.

"It's too dangerous…" I looked him dead in the eyes and silenced his laughing.

"Look," Dan stopped smiling and grabbed my right hand again before I could react. Damn he was fast.

"I just told ya, I'm a nation, and a strong one. I won't die to somethin like this, and it won't bother me for long. Plus…" he shook my hand around like he was dusting out a cloth. "It's not even doin anything anymore. You must be out of juice or somethin," his face lit up in that same huge grin.

"It's…not?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Not at all. Maybe ya have it under control?" he playfully laughed as he slapped me in the back. "What happens if I touch your left hand?"

At that, my face lit up. "I almost forgot!"

I hurriedly slipped my right hand out of his grasp and gripped his still outstretched hand with my left. The pain returned with a vengeance, but I was happy about it for once, because I knew I was taking back what Danmark had taken from me. Apparently he realized annoyingly quickly too, because it was only a couple seconds before he hurriedly yanked his hand away and reached for my right hand again, but I was prepared this time. I slid my hand behind my back and dodged his swipe.

"No can do Dan…" I had to catch my breath a little, but my voice was resolute as I stood my ground to face a surprisingly angry Dane. "I won't let you take what is my burden even if you say you can handle it."

"How long have ya felt like such shit?" Dan asked with no hesitation or masked words.

"Sorry?" I asked legitimately unsure how to respond to his blunt question and his sudden drastic change in demeanor.

"How long have ya felt like swords are bein stabbed into your heart and explosions are goin on in your brain? How long have ya felt like every muscle in your body is being weighed down and stiff like you're constantly in chains? How long?" Dan was seething.

"I…I'm sorry…" I could only apologize as if I was being scolded though I barely understood what I was apologizing for.

Dan let out a sigh then and the anger slowly drained from his face. "That long huh?" He gently grasped both my arms, careful to avoid either of my hands, and placed them at my sides, then he pulled me into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I didn't find ya sooner."

I couldn't help it. I hadn't cried since the day I had to bring back my dead friend, but here, I let my tears fall like rain. All the pent up emotions I had been harboring spilled out in waves. Dan just stood there, supporting me in his arms as my tiny body let out shaking sob after shaking sob. At one point, I almost lifted my arms on reflex to hug him back, but Dan had apparently thought things through more than I thought because the way he was holding me, I couldn't lift my arms. I only cried harder at that. It wasn't out of fear that he was doing that. I knew now. He was doing it to consider my feelings. He was neither trying to take my pain or give the remaining amount back to me. He was just supporting me. In that moment in which I was crying the hardest I've cried in years, I couldn't have been happier.

When I finally quieted down, he pulled away and gave my tear stained face a once-over before smirking and grabbing the ends of my cloak and throwing it over my head.

"Ya look like absolute top-tier shit," he laughed as I fumbled with pulling the cloak off my head and grumbling as I wiped my face off. "Kakaka…but, you're strong ya know."

I paused in my efforts, my cloak still clutched in my hands. His smile turned from joking to soft as he gently pat my head.

"Dealin with that kind of power alone for so long…consider me impressed." He clenched his fist and put up his thumb in some kind of 'good job' gesture.

"You know…you say some nice things. But it's really hard for me to take you seriously with all these antics of yours," I said that with an annoyed frown, but inside, I was so happy and light, it felt like I was floating. My efforts had not been for nothing. Someone had acknowledged me and made it sound like they wouldn't be leaving me any time soon. Did this mean I wasn't going to be alone anymore? The tears almost began to flow once more, but I stifled them as I was not going to cry in front of Dan again.

"You can't take this face seriously?" Dan's shocked voice cut through my musings. He looked appalled that I could even suggest such a thing and swiped his hand around his face like he was showing off a perfect shape. "Is it cuz I'm not holdin my axe anymore? It's cuz I'm not holdin the axe isn't it? I'm plenty reliable and serious when I need to be!" Dan openly pouted as he quickly began scanning the area for the lavish axe he had been carrying earlier.

I sighed out loud watching him pout and mumble about how inspirational and charismatic he was and couldn't help but smile a little. I stretched my arms over my head and clenched and unclenched my fists. It had been a while since I felt this good. Dan was now walking over to his axe that was waiting for him patiently in the snow just a few feet away and my smile dropped a little as I watched him ever-so-slightly grimace as he wiped a little sweat off his brow. Maybe I really shouldn't get too comfortable. I had just met Danmark, and he had just met me. He had no obligations to stay with me, and he had a first-hand experience of my frightening power.

"I can feel your scowl from here," Dan once again cut through my rambling thoughts. "I can tell you a thing or two about frightening po…"

He stopped mid-sentence and froze in his return to me, axe now once again resting on his shoulder. I was just about to ask what was wrong when a blast of wind slammed straight into my chest and I was sent flying back into a tree. My back stung from the impact as I slid unceremoniously to the ground, my vision swirling.

"What just…" I started but couldn't finish when my vision settled and I saw the scene before me.

A large knife glinted from where it was impaled in the tree exactly where I had been standing moments ago. Dan stood bracing his axe against a multitude of swords brandished by an ambush squad that probably saw us as easy targets for quick supplies. I hurriedly looked around for anything I could use as a weapon to help, but Dan shot me a quick look that made me freeze in my tracks. It screamed to stay back. A thousand thoughts ran through my head. Was he as strong as he said he was? I hadn't thought about if he could use that large axe well or not. It seemed way too heavy for his still young-in-stature body, but he soon proved me wrong.

Gritting his teeth, Dan shoved them off and bounded back with amazing speed. I could feel the wind begin to shift around me as Dan threw off his cloak and stood his ground. It was a surprisingly one-sided battle for the most part. I watched in awe as Dan looked almost comfortable and a little like he was having fun as he ducked and weaved between the men's attacks, snapped weapons in half with one swing of his axe, and knocked some of them out with the handle. I was so entranced, I didn't notice when one of them broke off and snuck up behind me. I felt his presence too late to react. I closed my eyes in anticipation of that pain forever seared into my mind the day my powers activated, but it never came. All I felt was a sudden sharp gust of wind followed by a surprised intake of breath and guttural coughs. When I opened my eyes, Dan stood between me and the man, the man's sword piercing his shoulder but his axe impaled deep into the man's chest.

"Don't. Touch. My. Family." Dan growled, anger boiling in his eyes as he withdrew his axe and yanked the sword out of his shoulder. As the man fell lifeless to the ground, he gently handed the sword to me. "Take cover…I'm sorry…" it came out as barely more than a whisper, but I heard it clear as day. What was he apologizing for? He had just saved my life…or at least…saved my immortal life from a death's amount of pain. And wait…family?

I had barely any time to think about what just happened when I suddenly began to feel a slight change in the pressure around the area. The wind had become agitated and chaotic. Dan was slowly advancing on the remaining group still standing where he had left them before coming to my rescue. His eyes were shaded as he held his axe to the side with one hand. One of the men tried to rush him, but a vortex suddenly formed around the Dane and sent the man sprawling backwards and into a nearby tree. The rest of the men hesitantly brandished their weapons. A couple tried firing arrows, but the vortex quickly caught them and sent them flying off in random directions. Then, the first thunder clap echoed across the sky. It was like watching the end of the world. Tornadoes began descending from the blackened sky like extending claws. The men began to panic and threw down their weapons, scattering among the trees, and screaming for their lives. That's when I remembered that Dan had told me to take cover as well. I found a nearby alcove sheltered by sturdy roots and some raised ground and took in the scene before me.

As the tornadoes began to touch down, the sounds became deafening. Screams, whimpers, and snapping branches filled the air as men, animals, and trees alike were being ripped from the ground and tossed haphazardly around like rag dolls to fall who-knows-where. Through it all, Dan stood at the epicenter, eyes pointed skyward with a blank stare, hair and tunic whipping around with the wind. Thunder continued to rock the sky as the destruction ravaged on.

Suddenly, I felt a slight shift in the wind again to see Dan with his axe now jammed into the ground, both hands gripping the handle for dear life, his eyes jammed shut in painful concentration and his teeth grit to the point where blood began trickling down his chin. Slowly, the tornadoes began to retreat back into the clouds, but it was not safe yet. Bodies and trees began raining from the sky in a macabre shower of devastation. I couldn't look for a little.

I crouched in my protective alcove until I mustered the courage to peak back over the side of one of the roots. If Dan would not be afraid of my power, I would not be afraid of his. Dan was leaning heavily on his axe, one hand gripping it for dear life, the other clutching at his chest like he was trying to hold in his heart. His brow was furrowed in pain and concentration as slowly but surely the tornadoes disappeared back into the clouds. When finally the wind returned to nothing but a light breeze, I glanced around at the now wide-open clearing with the Dane at its center and couldn't help but glance at my own hands. Trees were shattered, land leveled, and people and animals that had been tossed around littered the surrounding area. Maybe I didn't have it that bad.

That's when it clicked. He understood better than anyone what it meant to have a frightening power. He could understand the pain of loss and taking a life. He could understand not being able to control his ability. His apology earlier had not been meant solely for me, but to the men, the forest, and the animals that were about to be caught in his uncontrollable power. And yet, he lived with it all. He was able to smile at me and laugh and call life great. I suddenly felt ashamed of a lot of the things I had thought and said about him.

Then I remembered that Dan had just been in a fight after also getting involved with my power and I quickly recovered my motor skills to run over to him. He was still leaning heavily on his axe, but when I got there, the adrenaline seemed to leave his body and he slumped down to the ground.

"That was…rough…" I barely heard him breathe out. "I…didn't think it would…be that much harder…"

"Just relax Dan," I soothed as I looked over his worn body. His shoulder was still bleeding fairly freely and he was trembling slightly. His hair that had looked like it was constantly wind-blown was now limp and sticking to his sweaty face here and there. "Let me…"

"NO!" Dan almost choked on the word as he forced it out so vehemently when he could barely talk.

It was as if he was reading my mind because I was already reaching over with my left hand.

"But, I couldn't do anything during the actual fight. Let me help you too. If you are willing to carry some of my burden, let me carry some of yours," I pleaded with all of my sincerity.

It looked like he might have been wanting to protest more, but his eyes widened comically instead at my last comment and he gave a light chuckle.

"Like a…family…already…" he forced a smile despite his obvious exhaustion. "I couldn't…stop you from this position…even if…I wanted to anyways."

"You're darned right," I playfully smirked as I gently gripped onto his arm.

Normally I was fighting a mental pain, and it hadn't been since my friend that I had really traded physical pain, so the moment I made contact with Dan's skin, I couldn't help but let out a sharp cry. Knife-like pain shot up my arm and every muscle in my body suddenly started screaming as if it was on fire. How was Dan smiling with the full brunt of this?

I made sure to let go after a little because Dan would get mad at me and I didn't think I would be able to move again if I kept hanging on anyways. Dan was now peacefully smiling with his eyes relaxed shut.

"Thank you…" he managed to drawl out before he passed out completely. "I'm glad ya…didn't take it all…"

Suddenly, the pain didn't hurt so much.

* * *

Translations:

 _Hold kæft_ [Danish] - basically, "Shut up" or "Hold mouth" but could also be a kind of shut up as in "wow" depending on context and how it's used

 _Det er sgu rigtigt_ [Danish] - "It's damn true." (He didn't expect to actually find another like him.)


	2. All Quirks Are Beautiful (Den, Su)

This is a continuation of the previous chapter. It used to be a single one, but it was too long all together and quite intimidating, so I split it. This takes place a week or so later.

* * *

All Quirks Are Beautiful

"I want to show ya something Sve," Dan grinned at me and grabbed my right hand as if it didn't have the potential to bring him to his knees. There was a playful bounce in his step as he led me through the trees and up a slight incline. "Prepare to have your life changed forever."

He said that like it hadn't, but I don't think the idiot would ever understand what he'd done for me already. The current ineffectuality of my right hand should've been proof enough. We broke through one more line of trees and my jaw almost dropped.

"Kakaka! For bein your land, ya don't seem to know any of the best spots!" Dan laughed as he threw his arms out like he was trying to spread them across the vast open sky spread out before us.

We stood on a clearing atop a high cliff. A soft breeze rustled the leaves around us and Dan let it spiral around him like a gentle embrace. Below us, the moon illuminated the continuation of the forest like a fluffy green carpet and beyond that, was the sea. The stars and moon reflected across the waters making it look like the sky stretched in both directions. From our perch high above the forest, I could hear the sounds of the waves like a distant whisper. Even if I did have a response to his snide comment, I wasn't about to say it. I didn't want to ruin the serenity with more talk, but, of course, Dan didn't see it that way.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he started. "Do you see that mass of land on the horizon Sve?"

I looked a little closer against the dark horizon and saw the clear mass of land that didn't seem that far at all. Dan's sky-blue eyes sparkled as he gazed longingly at it. They were filled with fondness and longing and it didn't take me long to connect the dots.

"That's Danmark Sverige…" he breathed out with a love-sick sigh. "My beautiful country."

I glanced around at what Dan kept referring to as my land and its own beauty and wondered if I would feel that same way about my country. I didn't feel it at the moment, but maybe it's because I didn't love myself yet. Now that I thought about it, it had never occurred to me why another nation such as Danmark would be in my land in the first place.

"Do you want to go back Dan?" I decided to open with.

"Of course," came the quick reply. "But I want to hang with you for a while first. The people of Danmark will be fine for a little without me."

"Is it bad for a nation to leave their land?" I asked curiously.

"Not really, but it is my home and I represent my people. I do have my obligations as the personification of their efforts, belief, and loyalty," his smile was soft as he turned to me and clapped me hard on the back. "We are more than just human Sve. We are nations!"

It was times like these that I would forget he was still just a young nation in a nine-year-old's body. He acted like a childish idiot most of the time, but he really was my older brother. It was in these moments that I was the most proud of what I was.

"So…what brought you to my land in the first place Dan?" I sheepishly probed further hoping there were no undesirable ulterior motives.

"Oh…curiosity!" Dan snickered. "Aaaand a little bit of a test run."

"Test run?" I quirked an eyebrow at his answer.

"Uh, yeah! I was takin one of my new ship designs out for a spin and figured I could go further with my power. Which I did might I add! But I went A LOT further than I planned and ended up in Sverige's land instead! Kakakakaka!" Dan started laughing at his own miscalculation. "But I got to meet you, so maybe I will explore even further next time…but enough of this! This was only part of what I REALLY wanted to show ya."

He moved towards the edge of the cliff then, and I got a little worried that he was going to show me his latest attempts at flying, but instead, he stopped and lifted his hands so it almost looked like he was doing a relaxed shrug. It started off soft, but eventually, I could hear it. The wind was singing. Dan was moving it through the trees and the ravines in the cliff face in such a way where it sounded like a hum. It whistled through the trees, reverberated in the ravines, vibrated the leaves. Dan began waving his hands in smooth motions like he was finger-painting the sky and suddenly, flower petals and fallen leaves began to swirl around in the air to the natural music. He turned to me with a huge grin and pointed directly at me. The petals and leaves swirled around me and then twisted into the air above my head before he clapped his hands together and they gathered into a large ball before exploding outward like a firework to gently float down around me.

"Amazing…" was the only response I could give.

"Kakaka! I haven't just been travelin for this long and not done anything," he put his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest in pride. "Told ya the wind can talk!"

"I'll bet it just takes after its controller," I gave him a snide smirk and his stance visibly deflated.

"Soilin it Sve…soilin it," he pouted as he turned back to stare out over the forest.

He took a seat on a slightly raised bit of rock and tapped the spot to his right, indicating to me to sit with him. I complied, and for a while, we just sat there and stared out across the water. I broke the silence first for a change.

"You know…it really was beautiful though…your performance I mean…" I could feel my cheeks heating up a little with every word and it only got worse when Dan gave me a light-hearted smile and laughed a little.

"Kakaka…I'm glad," Dan's eyes softened as he turned back to stare at his homeland across the sea. "I wanted to show ya how wonderful our abilities are. They don't have to be a curse."

I lifted my hands in front of me and stared at my wrists where faint white lines encircled both like natural bracelets. He could speak for himself.

"Nations can grow back entire limbs…did you know that?" I almost whispered with glassy eyes.

Dan's face shot toward my hands wide-eyed, and he seized my left arm, dragging it more into the moonlight where he could clearly see the faint white scars. I tensed as he gently ran his thumb along one of them almost as if in fascination before he let out a long sigh and moved my arm so that my left hand was pressing over my heart.

"Yes, I did," his voice sounded distant, his mind I guess deep in his own memories. I felt the wind swirl around us and Dan lifted up his arm to catch it in a small spiral around his hand. "It…doesn't magically make your own pain vanish does it?" He was staring at my left hand still lightly pressed against where he had left it on my heart.

"No…because it's my pain already…" I let my hand slide off and back in front of me where I gently clapped both together. "I can only give or take from others."

"I see…" he trailed off as he let the wind around his hand disperse in a light puff.

"You're…not mad? Or even sad?" I looked him in the eyes to search for any emotions, but all I saw was…a smile?

"I'm only mad at myself Sve…" Dan's smile widened. "But I'm mostly glad that we were able to find each other, cuz now it will never happen again!"

He was happy? He wasn't mad at me or pitying me like most would do? Why did that…make me kind of happy too? He leapt up then, which surprised me enough to fall backwards in shock, annoyance quickly replacing the depressed mood I had been developing.

"I feel like I can do anythin tonight!" his signature wide grin was stretched across his face as he threw his arms in the air like he had just attained victory.

I felt the air build up beside me, but before I could register what was about to happen, Dan had already jumped. _Vad fan_!? This guy was going to kill himself! I shot out of my seat and raced to the edge of the cliff, peering over for any sign of the reckless Dane. There was no sign of him anywhere and I could feel my panic rising even further until a harsh gust suddenly pushed me away from the cliff's edge and back into a seated position. I glanced up and sure enough, Dan was floating in the air above me but…what kind of pose was that?

"Draw me like one of your French girls Sve…" Dan suggestively waggled an eyebrow at me and I think I visibly burst a vein in my head.

**Somewhere from the distant future**

["That reference didn't even exist yet Den!" - America]

["Anko, you idiot…" - Norway]

**Back to present**

" _Helvete va jobbigt_...What the hell is a French girl you stupid Dane?!" I swung a fist at him and almost forgot the edge of the cliff, but Dan just threw his head back laughing and flicked a short gust at me to steady me back on solid ground.

"No idea!" he continued laughing, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. "But look Sve! I think I finally got it!" He began whizzing around in the air, but his enthusiasm seemed to die pretty quickly because he soon stopped laughing and tentatively landed with a dull thump next to me. He was panting heavily and sweat had begun dripping down the side of his face, but he was smiling a wide grin and his wind-swept hair that had begun to droop slightly quickly flared back to its usual wild positions. "Kakaka! I guess I'm still not that great at it," he snickered between pants as he flopped down on his back to catch his breath.

"You're insufferable sometimes, you know that?" I knelt down and jabbed him in the side with a finger, letting out a long sigh to emphasize my frustration. "An idiot, reckless, loud, obnoxious, older brother…"

"Hey!" he interjected, face scrunching into a playful frown as he gingerly rubbed the spot I had poked him.

"…and amazing," I gave him a wry smile. "I wish my ability could be half as beautiful as yours."

"It is!" He shot up, almost head-butting me in the process.

"It's like you want to learn every swear word in my language!" I seethed as I got back up from where I had fallen back to avoid his head.

"I think it's all fun to learn," he laughed. "But I'm serious! Your ability is beautiful, your right hand included! When I think of the cool things ya could probably do, I get super excited!"

"Excited?! You do know what my ability is right?" I waved my hands in front of his face for extra emphasis.

"Kakaka! No! I don't get it at all!" He laughed as though it was the funniest question he had ever been asked.

"What's so funny about that?!" I pouted whilst crossing my arms.

"YOU don't even know much about your own ability," he started patting my shoulder like he was trying to console me with a goofy grin on his face.

"My left hand takes in pain and my right gives it away?" I hesitantly answered, now suddenly questioning if that was really right or not. "Am I wrong?"

"Well…I'm sure that is the main gist of it…" he thoughtfully started rubbing his chin. "But I'm sure there are plenty of clever ways ya can spin that." He gave a curt nod as if agreeing with himself. "You said that both killed a guy right?" He said it like it was nothing and then abruptly stopped. "Oh…uh…I mean…I don't mean to make light of that…I just…"

I let out another sigh. I've been doing that a lot tonight for varying reasons. "Just keep going…" I waved him off with a deadpan expression.

"Heh…well um…yeah! So maybe that was just the circumstance or you not bein able to control it. I think with practice and creativity, ya can help a lot of people," he concluded.

"Help people? I can't heal people Dan. It only lures them into a false sense of comfort," I stared down at my hands. "And my right just hurts people."

"But think about it Sve," Dan's voice was serious for once, and that snapped me to attention. "That comfort that only YOU can provide at the sacrifice of your own, I think it's something special. Even if they are dying, YOU can bring them peace. When I was in pain, ya helped share that burden. I think that's beautiful. And don't hate your right hand Sve." He reached out and clasped my right hand between both of his, which was okay because…I wasn't in any pain at the moment. "Your left protects others, but your right protects YOU," he grabbed both of my arms then and moved them so my palms came together in front of me, a gentle swirl of wind encircling both of them. "…a beautiful balance," he dropped his temporary serious attitude and his grin was once again on his face. The wind stopped circling my hands and he let go to lean back and observe my reaction.

I stayed kneeling there just staring at my hands clasped together for what felt like an eternity, unable to process all the emotions currently running through my system. I had never thought about it that way. I began to think…maybe…maybe it was amazing.

"I…I thought you didn't understand my power at all…" was all I could get out.

"Well, I don't get the specifics at all," he stated as though that were obvious. "But I don't think I'll find an ability I'll ever think isn't amazing."

"Too many negatives Dan," I smiled at him.

"Sveeeee…why do you always have to ruin it when I'm sayin cool older brother things!" he pouted.

"Because… _din jävla Danmark_!" I was about to explain and maybe even thank him a little bit, but when I gave him a friendly jab in the shoulder with my left fist, a sharp pain ricocheted up my arm and threw me off balance. "What the hell is wrong with you Dan?! If flying hurts you this much, you should've told me so!" I quickly reached out with my left to get a hold of him again, but he was already on his feet and waving his hands in front of him as if to ward me off.

"B-b-b-because it's n-n-n-nothing I'm not already used to!" he began tripping over his own words as he backed away. I wonder what was freaking him out so bad. "I-I-I-I mean…you know…I've b-b-b-been by myself for…I'm sorry!"

I was standing at this point glaring at him in utter frustration, hands clenched at my sides. He was going to let me help him if it was the last thing he ever did! He suddenly took off into the forest, even activating his ability to give him an extra boost.

"I changed my mind! Sverige is too scary!"

I smiled maliciously and casually started walking after the fleeing Dane. Yeah, I could see the appeal of this ability.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I feel like at the beginning, these two were very close. A lot happens in their futures, but I think they will always be family, especially in the world of Hero Academia Hetalia. I hope I properly captured a lot of what I see as both of these country's various sides in terms of their personification personalities.

I think Denmark is outwardly and for-the-most part very genuinely happy and optimistic, but hides a lot of the guilt and insecurities he feels deep down. Although childish and idiotic on the surface, I think he understands a lot more than people give him credit for and is actually very smart. I also think he can be quite scary and violent if pushed too far…Viking times, #neverForget…I like his playful side best of all, but I always believe, especially in the case of people like the nations with long histories, that the ones that smile the most have it the worst, but that's what makes them so lovable. I think his quirk, "wind waker," fits him well. Wind can be forceful, stubborn, and fearfully powerful, but is also quite comforting, free, and playful. I also thought it was funny that a constant connection to the wind could explain his wild hair. His hair is a good indication to his "tiredness" level.

I was going to write this in 3rd person, but I quickly switched to first person through Sweden's eyes because of the way I had to describe his encounters and the way having his quirk might feel. I think Sweden has a lot of emotions that swirl around in his head, but he can't really express them all and just comes off looking mildly displeased most of the time…especially when it comes to Denmark. XD He is actually playful, but because of his tacit nature, I feel like it would most come out in snide comments and sarcasm. Don't mess with him though. I think even in his youth you would be able to feel his strength and scary aura. Sweden's scary face is scary.

It was fun to write Sweden. I know he's usually voiced with more guttural speech and dropped vowels, but I decided to make him talk rather normally for ease of understanding. I think out of the two of them, he'd definitely talk more properly as opposed to young Denmark that could probably give fewer shits. I think both of them would break a common language to their national one when cursing, being playful, or feeling very strongly about something.

Sweden's quirk, "pain transference," can get very dark, but I also wanted to show how differently it could be looked at from a light side too. Since the personifications I feel would develop quirks or even be "born" with them way before they would develop in their people, I think they would have to go through a lot of self-discovery to find their place…or make it. Sweden is very strong, but his ability is rather unorthodox. I feel it is the type where, if the person is not able to love it or themselves, they could easily become a very dark driven villain.

Denmark and Sweden aside, I also used this as an opportunity to explore my version of what it would feel like to be "born" a nation with a quirk in general. I think it would be incredibly jarring to be so different from everyone around you in terms of not-aging, how fast you can heal, how knowledgeable you are, and having an extra ability that no one else seems to even come close to. Anyways, sorry for the long rant at the end here. I just wanted to get some of my thoughts out. Please look forward to more stories from this universe and let me hear your thoughts. :D I hope you'll be able to see more of the scope of this universe over the course of this one-shot collection.

* * *

Comments from the cast:

Denmark: "Sverige! We never got to give you your human name!"

Sweden: "I don't think my human name was very relevant at the time…and you never call me by it anyways, so I don't see the point. Is this really what we are going to focus on in this corner?"

Denmark: "So uptight! I announced mine like it was so amazing and then you never called me by it at all except to ask me about it!"

Sweden: "You were the one that said to call you what I wanted. Dan is easiest and suits you. Mathias sounds too cool for you."

Denmark: "Agh…my fragile heart."

Sweden: " _Men det va då fan…_ "

Denmark: " _Jeg elsker ogs_ _å dig Sverige._ "

* * *

Translations:

 _Vad fan_ [Swedish] – "What the hell?"

 _Helvete va jobbigt_ [Swedish] – "So annoying!"

 _Din jävla Danmark_ [Swedish] – "You fucking Denmark…" but basically more of a "Goddamn it Denmark, you idiot."

 _Men det va då fan_ [Swedish] – a way of saying "Omg, I'm so annoyed right now."

 _Jeg elsker ogs_ _å dig Sverige._ [Danish] – "I love you too Sweden."


	3. Artistry (Austria, Switz)

Artistry

**/**/****

Dear Diary,

I am enchanted. I do not know how else to put it. I can barely put into words what I witnessed today. Usually I come to you to complain or write down my wishes, but today I just came to record what I saw so that I may remember it in any way possible should I somehow, though I do not know how it would be possible, forget.

How do I start my tale? Well I guess I'll start from the beginning. I was just returning from buying the groceries when I came upon a very peculiar site. A beautiful man with violet eyes was walking in the same direction as I with a stern-looking blonde man. The violet-eyed man wore a pair of light square glasses and was dressed rather formally in a navy blue twin-tail dress coat over a white dress shirt, complete with a white jabot, black dress pants, and black dress shoes while the stern-looking man looked almost ready for combat in a forest green military jacket with white crosses on the upper arms over a white v-neck, brown pants tucked into dark brown military boots, black gloves, and a white beret. It was a very contrasting pair. They seemed to be fighting over something, but I could not hear what. Whatever it was, the stern-looking man looked like he was keeping a particularly close eye on the violet-eyed man who kept looking like he was going to wander off. Rather comical if you ask me…

We soon broke free from the main town, and the pair began to head in a different direction. I was kind of sad to see them go. If nothing else, they had been good entertainment. I walked for a while until I reached the top of the largest hill on the way home. I took a moment to catch my breath at the top, and when I looked around, I glimpsed a familiar sight. The violet-eyed man and stern-looking man stood in a field a ways away, but in front of them stood what looked like practically a small army of angry looking men, each pointing a weapon of various sorts at the pair. I nearly dropped my bags in shock, but luckily for me I didn't. Curiosity got the better of me and I did not even think I may be in danger as well. The pair did not seem to mind at all. The stern-looking man almost seemed bored and the violet-eyed man was just standing there with a stoic look on his face.

Suddenly one of the men fired, and I saw something I can still barely believe. The stern-looking man shot out his arm in the blink of an eye and I could hear the distinct sound of metal hitting metal. When I looked again, I saw the man's arm much flatter than it was before, glinting metallic in the rays of the sun. What was this man of blades?

Before I could think too long on what I had just seen, chaos erupted in the field below as the small army of men began firing at will at the pair and those with blades moved in for the kill. The man of blades simply deflected all the shots as if they were standing still right back at the advancing men who could not get any closer. Amidst it all, the violet-eyed man peacefully shut his eyes and lifted his hands. When they lowered, the first notes rang out across the field.

* * *

For the full effect, I recommend listening to this while reading to get a feel for what it might've really sounded like from here on out.  
Where the ** are, put the double / and the * in between the u and b is a "."

https:**youtu*be/YJBm9OdXMxw

* * *

At first, it was quiet, drowned out by gun fire, loud shouts, and the clanging of metal against bullets, but the violet-eyed man ignored them all and continued to simply focus on his movements, conducting the air as if he were standing before a grand symphony. The music began to build until, before I knew it, all the gunfire had ceased and the men had halted in their advance. As the beautiful man with the violet eyes continued to conduct his invisible symphony with all the dedication and care of me to my children, further and further did the men around him slip. Weapons dropped to the floor, but it was as if sound cared not for anything save for the performance of the violet-eyed man. Deeper and deeper into his flowing melodies they fell and more and more sincere the music rose. Even from afar, I too began to fall into this man's world of sound. It was as if the world was falling away and yet spreading before me. His music surrounded me like a comforting blanket near a warm fire amidst a snowstorm. His audience, his enemies, stood entranced, completely unaware of the other whose grand performance probably only I from afar could marvel at.

Amidst all of us who could do nothing but fall into the violet-eyed man's enchanting melodies, his accompaniment, rather his dancer as I could call him, did not fall victim to his music but rather moved with it, gave it life and physical manifestation. His body reflected the setting sun as it morphed and flowed across the battlefield in a choreography of deadly precision. One by one, their would-be audience fell to the man of blades's waste-less movements and perfected slashes.

It was then that I felt the music shift a little. It grew heavier, as if within it lived a great burden. With every note, my heart began to break a little, to weep for things I could not begin to know. I saw it then, the tears collecting in those violet eyes and I knew. This man put his heart and soul into his music. He poured his very being into these wonderful notes. For his audience, it was both their funeral song and peace. I looked across the battlefield and the few that remained standing were also shedding tears, but it was not fear or sadness that graced their faces, but genuine smiles.

The man of blades gracefully concluded his macabre but somehow divine dance and stood in silence as their last enemy fell, respectfully bearing witness to his partner's final notes. As the sun glimmered on the horizon and the sky was painted like a falling fire, the violet-eyed man slowly lowered his hands and let the last notes of his performance echo across his now lifeless concert hall. I could feel the world awaking as if from a dream around me. The sounds of the wind and birds returned and the trees began to rustle again. Before me, men lay scattered, but their faces were calm and not a single drop of blood could be seen. If I had not seen it myself, I would assume they were all peacefully dreaming.

The violet-eyed man's delicate body swayed in the breeze and began to fall, but his partner quickly caught him and carefully lowered both of them to kneeling on the ground. The man of blades gently brushed some loose strands of hair from the violet-eyed man's forehead and patiently sat there waiting until the violet-eyed man slowly cracked his eyes open and smiled. What was said between them, I do not feel I shall ever know, nor do I feel it is my place to.

At one point, the violet-eyed man seemed to get angry and punched the man of blades in the shoulder to great ineffectuality but seemed to recover quickly and his face returned to the serious and princely one he had worn originally. The man of blades just sighed and smiled, lifting them both to their feet at once. I stood on my hill watching them walk off together, the man of blades supporting the violet-eyed man with his shoulder. I watched until I could no longer see them and the sun set over the horizon.

What was it I witnessed today? I looked down upon what should have been a gruesome scene before me, but all I could feel was a sense of disappointment that I could not watch the two perform again. What was it that I witnessed today? Well…it was…artistry…

* * *

Author's Notes:

"Artistry" is the hero pair name of Austria and Switzerland in the LHN (League of Hero Nations). I think you can understand why. In the fandom, the pairing itself is called Edelweiss, something I find particularly beautiful. It is the national flower of both countries and, in the Sound of Music, was used as a symbol of Captain von Trapp's loyalty to Austria even as he flees into the Alps with his family to Switzerland.

Austria's quirk is called "maestro" and is considered one of the most powerful non-physical quirks known to exist. It is basically the ability to influence people and things around him via music that he can create out of thin air as if physically manifesting the instruments. He can either conduct for multiple instruments or mimic the motions of a single instrument. Depending on the mood of the piece, it influences the affected's actions in different ways. His influence can get so great that even inanimate objects will sometimes move to his music's whims. He is known as one of the most beautiful quirk users to witness in terms of grace and poise. The biggest drawback to his quirk is that it does not work instantaneously, so he must have protection while it builds. The great power of his quirk also cursed him with a weak constitution, so he is often very sickly or weak and does not have a lot of physical prowess. Austria is certainly not my main man, but just look at that man. He's very pretty.

Switzerland's quirk is known as "Swiss-army knife," something he rolls his eyes at every time. The higher-ups, as usual, were very creative when assigning his quirk name. He can manipulate his skin and even his hair to form all kinds of blades and various metal objects. His skin gets very dry if he over-uses his quirk. He used to tear a lot of his clothes, but since learning to fully control his power, he hasn't torn a seam unless going full blade mode. To this day, however, he wears a lot of thick clothes to protect people who may bump into him and accidentally startle him…although he's very observant and aware of his surroundings, so that probably wouldn't happen.

They make a great team because Switzerland is very strong and can protect Austria as well as resist his quirk because he can turn even his eardrums into blades to block out the sound. Switzerland has developed a natural resistance to it over the many years, however, and can pretty much listen without being affected at all. He liked Austria's songs, so he wanted to listen. I don't think Austria realizes this at all.

* * *

Comments from the cast:

Switzerland: "This guy makes you sound too good Roderich."

Austria: "I wouldn't make a big deal about it. He's probably just another person over-influenced by maestro again. It's honestly quite dull."

Switzerland: "He thought we were entertaining while we were walking through the market."

Austria: "Well, you were making quite a scene."

Switzerland: "And whose fault do you think that is?! You'd get lost walking to your car if it was at the end of a straight hallway!"

Austria: "I would not! It is my car that would get lost…"

Switzerland: "That is not a thing!"

Austria: "You're getting all wound up again Basch. Come relax and have a cup of tea with me."

Switzerland: "I'd rather go see Liech…did you even notice this guy when this whole incident happened?"

Austria: "It was quite long ago…"

Switzerland: "Do you even remember what I said at the end?"

Austria: "Of course not."

Switzerland: "…Of course not…"


	4. World War at the Port: Part 1 (group)

I'll put a name list at the end because there are a lot of characters and a lot of nicknames and human names being thrown around.

* * *

World War at the Port: Part I

"Maddie? Gil? You find the big'ol boomer yet? Woah!"

"If we had, we would have said something Mr. Mathias."

"Kesesesesesese….big'ol boomer…"

"Shut up Gil…what are you five? You're going to give us away…"

"The hero always comes up with the best names! Den, heads up!"

"Shut up you colossal wanker! It's because of your childish naming sense that…Bonnefoy! You almost burned my bloody eyebrows off! You're supposed to be watching my back, not frying my face you git!"

"Woops, you know it's hard to aim with my quirk Iggy."

"Then why the bloody-hell do you look so happy?!"

"Area 2B is secure Makkun."

"Roger that Kumi-chan. We're almost…done here too."

"Mat, 6.3 seconds, 3 o'clock."

"Got im, thanks Gil. Ludwig, how's Alice?"

"Veh! Che cavolo! Torna qui stronzino!"

"She's…fine…"

"All these people are crumbling rather nicely. I wonder if I can chill my vodka in their heads…"

"I-I-I-Ivan…you're s-s-s-scaring Germany."

"Pretty sure it's you that's shaking dah?"

"Kakakakakaka! Hang in there Chun Chun."

"Guys! Stop flooding my channels with your useless prattle! You're all giving me a headache!"

"Sorry Ice."

"Coast under control Den."

"Efficient as usual Ned."

"Hold that thought."

"Back-up coming from the Southern Point Ta-san."

"Mostly low level quirk users but a couple that seem like they could be tough."

"Lucian…"

"Already on it Snack-time."

"Eri, backup."

"Righto. Big brother, trouble at the port."

"I heard. Be there in a little. Roderich tired himself out again."

"No rush, Neddie is already there and Hunnie and Romanii are on the way."

"If that wixer of a vampire does anything remotely suspicious…"

"Don't worry, I won't let this vagrant touch a hair on cute Liechten's head."

"But…Eliza-hun…"

"Guys! Clear channel!"

"Ah, sorry Emil."

"Er uh…you're fine Erica…"

"Ice, why don't you call me big brother?"

"I'll block you from the chat brother. I'm serious."

"Big broooother."

"No."

"Big brother."

"No!"

"Big sister."

"N…wait what?"

"Non ho finite con voi ancora bastardo!"

"Bonnefoy! My tail is on fire you pillock!"

"Lucian, one more glance in either Ned or Liechten's general direction, and I will shove my frying pan so far up your…"

"…clear…the...god…damn…CHANNEL!...Ég hata ykkur öll…"  
"…big brother…"

"Gaaaahhhh!"

* * *

All in all, things were going pretty smoothly. Mathias casually caught the water and flame shots of two enemy quirk users in a concentrated swirl of wind and shot them back towards their creators. He snickered as he listened to the developing conversations over Ice's "radio tower." The poor kid was going to have such a terrible headache after this, but it was never quiet with this many hero nations around. He'd buy him some licorice later or something.

He glanced over at his partner knocking two men over a wall at the same time and couldn't help but smile as he dodged a couple of laser beams shot by a quirk user that apparently could shoot beams from his hands. These pushy bastards couldn't let him admire good work for even a couple seconds. In one quick motion, he flipped over another that had been charging at him and flicked a sharp gust at the laser shooter. Not even pausing as the laser man fell, Mathias grabbed the man he had just flipped over by the collar and unceremoniously chucked him at a couple of men about to attack his partner's back. No one had posed even a remote challenge yet, and that worried the Dane more than anything. It was an independent villain group, but with an organization this big, it all seemed to be going too smoothly.

"Mat, 8.2 seconds, surrounded by gunfire," Gilbert's warning voice cut through his musings.

Speak of the devil.

"Al!"

"I heard it."

Mathias wasted no time. Immediately, a vortex began to form around the blonde Dane as Alfred scooted to his side. Sure enough, the other men backed out of the area and Mathias could see the glint of many high caliber guns suddenly shine out of the windows in the tall buildings surrounding them. He quickly took note of as many as he could before the time-limit was reached as he and Alfred stood back to back.

"Now!"

"Augment, velocity!"

In reaction to the spectacled nation's words, the vortex surrounding them began to speed to the point where a high-pitched whistle began to ring in their ears. Merely a second later, gunshots overcame the piercing sound of the wind, but nothing touched them. Mathias had his eyes shut in calm concentration as the sound of bullets ricocheting off the ground mixed with the wind and gunfire. A fourth noise joined the cacophony as the distinct sound of Tino's rifle began to go to work. Six shots, a slight pause, and another 3 shots later, and the enemy fire was all but silenced.

"Sorry Ta-san. Because of the angle, I couldn't get the ones in the building to your right," the Fin's voice apologized in Mathias's ear.

"No problem. Nice cover Tino," the Dane grinned. "Al, we're turning slightly."

"I got your back buddy!" the cheery American assured.

Mathias brought his arms up, concentrating the spiraling winds in front of him as he turned to face the offending building.

"Augment, vision," Alfred snickered a little as he gave a harsh whack to the side of his partner's head.

The Dane's head bobbled rather comically before the wind controller shot his arm forward and slammed high pressure gusts into all the remaining gunmen. Alfred couldn't contain his laughter as the former Viking turned to him, large sky-blue eyes bristling with tears and rubbing the glowing red handprint on the side of his head.

"Al…why you gotta be so cruel when you 'help' me?" Mathias pouted. "Rather than get a good bead on them, I almost missed entirely…and now it's too bright!"

"Hahahahahaha, I couldn't help it man," the American continued to snicker as he, gently this time, tapped the side of the taller nation's head. "You're just so fun to mess with."

"But if I missed, we would've been shot Al!" the Dane almost whined as he continued to nurse the fading handprint.

"I knew you wouldn't miss!" Alfred grinned as he finally managed to stop his laughter. "I believe in you, that's why you're so fun to mess with!"

"Back-handed compliments…why is it always back-handed compliments with you guys?" Mathias muttered, but he couldn't stay mad for long as he viewed the sunny smile of the super-power nation in front of him. "UGH…I hate that I can't stay mad at almost any of you for more than a couple seconds! Curse you Remoulade!"

"Dan…" Berwald's deep voice interrupted the Dane's tirade. "It's definitely not the Remouladsås…"

"Ah, Sverige! Someone I can be mad at! Help me; I can't stay mad at Al…" Mathias began leaping towards the intimidating Swede that simply moved to the side to let the Dane fall past him and skid to an anything but graceful halt at the feet of Lukas who had just emerged from the same building.

Berwald dropped the knocked-out body of the laser shooter that had escaped during the would-be ambush and rolled his eyes at his older brother that was now clinging to the Norwegian and pointing at him and Alfred like they were the real enemies. For definitely not the first time that day, he wondered why they all listened to his idiotic brother at all.

"Anko…off," the expressionless Norwegian flatly demanded.

"Ok…" Mathias whimpered as he slid away and wandered back towards the middle of the courtyard they had been fighting in.

"Hahaha, he's like a big puppy when it comes to you guys," Alfred was laughing again by the end of that exchange.

"And you're a puppy all the time," Lukas shrugged. "No wonder you work together so well."

"I am NOT like a puppy!" the American pouted with large azure puppy eyes.

"…sure…" the Norwegian flat-eyed and started walking to catch up to the still slouching Dane.

"Am I a puppy Sweden?" Alfred turned to make his case to the stone-faced Nordic.

"M, definitely," came the quick judging reply as the brooding man moved to join his family near the middle of the square.

"…a puppy that could tear their faces off…" Alfred mumbled to himself as he rejoined his partner.

"Al, we're intercepting a group that emerged from the main annex building. Tino and Ed will cover us," the Dane's mood was serious, but he seemed to be still getting over something that was said over the radio because a playful smile was back on his face. "Sve, Nor, keep in touch with Maddie and Gil and try to reach the control room. If we can take control of the facility itself, it'll make finding the big'ol boomer easier."

"Fine, but can we stop calling it that stupid name and just call it the missile?" Lukas deadpanned. "Big'ol boomer doesn't even make sense…it's not a bomb."

"Al, I forgive anything you do for the rest of the day," Mathias gave his partner a shining thumbs-up.

"I told you it would be a great name," Alfred returned the gesture.

"What?" Lukas glared at both of them in building confusion.

"It was so worth everything to hear you say 'big'ol boomer'…" Mathias brought his arm to his eyes as if he was dramatically crying.

"M…I'll go on ahead," Berwald stated flatly, but his pace betrayed him as he hurried into the nearest building.

"Anko…come here for a second. You too Jones," the Norwegian smiled warmly.

"Hey look! Nor is smiling!" the oblivious Dane grinned. "It really was the be…AAAAACK…"

Two large bangs echoed out from the courtyard and Lukas was soon emerging from the resulting dust cloud with a bored expression on his face.

"Dan and America are…out of commission for the time being, but they'll get to their position soon enough," Berwald nervously glanced out of the building he was hiding in at the carnage now in the courtyard. "Norge and I will be backing up Maddie and Gilbert."

"Kesesesese…you think I should've warned them about that?" Gilbert's voice was stifled but still shaking with suppressed laughter.

"No, they definitely dug their own graves on that one," Berwald shrugged to himself as Lukas joined him in the building, casually dusting himself off.

"Found anything yet Williams?" Lukas joined the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"I'm pretty sure we are in the correct building now," the Canadian's light voice answered. "There are more security cameras and guards around than before, but we have yet to find it because a certain someone is no help at all."

"Aw come on Maddie…I've been keeping an eye on like 5 different fronts. Give me some slack," the Prussian appealed to his partner.

"Fine, but maybe try turning your vision our way for just a little," the Canadian sighed.

"Alright, well Norge and I will continue to the control room then," Berwald concluded.

"Thanks Berwald," the Canadian answered back.

In the courtyard, Mathias struggled to dig himself out of his own indentation in the ground. "Gotta…get…to the…main…annex…building…urk…" he grunted as he slipped back into the dirt.

"You Vikings…are too…scary...ow…" came the shaking reply of his partner from his own hole at his side.

"Never…underestimate…a Viking!" Mathias panted out proudly.

"How…are you so…happy about this?!" Alfred's cowlick that was sticking up from where Mathias could see over the rim of his ditch shook incredulously. There was a slight pause before the Dane threw his hands up in exasperation.

"…for fanden Remoulade!"

* * *

Arthur flicked some of the blood off his claws as he stood over a quirk user that had thought his high-pitched screams would deafen the werewolf, but all he had to do was revert his ears back to human ones and the rest was a cake walk. The thick eye-browed blonde nation shielded his eyes against the heat as another flame flared up in front of him. If that harpy wasn't careful, they could set the whole place on fire and blow the missile up on themselves.

He sighed as he scanned the area for his narcissistic pyromaniac of a partner. He saw her a little ways off happily chasing after a couple of relatively good-looking men who already had bits of their clothing on fire as they ran for their lives. The island nation could feel the irritation building in his gut for about the thousandth time in the last couple minutes and hurried to catch up to the prancing blonde woman when he glanced back at his tail.

"Bonnefoy! My tail is on fire you pillock!" Arthur seethed as he hurriedly stifled the flames, not even thinking to just make it disappear for a little.

"It's because you're sticking your ass where it shouldn't be lovely," the French woman sing-songed.

"My bloody arse was minding its own bloody business mind you!" Arthur could feel his fangs beginning to protrude without him meaning to.

"Aren't you supposed to be a gentleman Iggy? Have a cup of tea and be calm?" Francine questioned teasingly.

"I will be calm when you learn to control your bloody quirk!" the Englishman fumed as he leapt over a building wall of fire and landed next to his partner that had just caught the fleeing men.

"You know it isn't that easy Iggy…" the blonde woman adjusted her bun and knelt down to tap out the flames of the slightly seared men that had passed out from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. "Such a shame…they were so handsome."

"I know you can't control it once you make the flames, but you could at least place them a little more strategically," Arthur had already calmed down a lot and was observing their surroundings again. "At this rate, we will be in trouble. The flames are getting out of control because you were throwing them around all willy-nilly."

Just then, a loud barrage of gunfire sounded from the area to their north.

"That was the direction the brat and Mathias are…" Arthur's head shot up worriedly.

A more distinct gunshot soon followed and Francine was soon standing with him, her head following the sounds of the fight in the North.

"And that was Tino-darling," she crossed her arms in thought.

"That damn Viking better be taking good care of that kid," both of them said at the exact same time.

Their heads snapped towards each other in realization and both of their faces simultaneously hardened in agitation.

"I said it faster," they both claimed at the same time again.

"No I did!" again at the same time.

"Bloody tart/Branleur, stop copying me!" they yelled at each other once again in chorus.

They continued bickering until they realized that the loud gunfire had ceased.

"Ta-san, are you there?" the Fin's worried voice drifted over Emil's radio.

"Y…yeah…I'm here. What's up?" the Dane's voice sounded rather depressed and Arthur began to worry as to what caused that until the Dane continued. "Al, Sve, and Nor are all bullies! You wouldn't make me feel this way, right Tino?"

Arthur had forgotten who he was really worried about and remembered the true nature of his former charge. He saw Francine openly facepalm and knew she had remembered as well. They both began to feel for the former Viking.

"Sure sure Ta-san," the Fin humored the Dane for a little before continuing. "Anyways, there's a group of rather tough looking fellows that just emerged from the main annex building."

"Got it. Everyone…" Mathias sounded more serious now so Arthur began to pay more attention. "Al and I will handle this new group with Tino and Ed as coverage. I'm sending Sve and Nor to help out Maddie and Gil. Arthur, how's it going for you?"

The aforementioned nation felt another flame flare up nearby and sighed.

"Hot, Bonnefoy decided she wanted to burn down the whole facility again…" he chose to reply.

"I see, well…"

"Pah, useless I tell you! Just leave it all to your old man!" an energetic gruff voice sounded from Arthur's side.

"Oh Adnan, Honda-chan, finish clearing the rest of the area?" Arthur's eyes were shining with hope that he wouldn't have to deal with the fire hazard on his own.

"Indeed Arthur-san," the elegant Japanese girl responded. "Adnan-sama is quite strong here."

"Bahahahaha, look at you youngsters getting all out of control!" the giant Turkish man grinned. "You should come over to my house for training some time! We could become good fri…"

"Adnan-sama, the fire is getting larger," the small island nation casually interrupted her partner's tangent.

"R-right!" the older nation looked visibly flustered as he snapped his fingers.

Instantly, glass from around the area began to congregate and mold together, forming all-encompassing glass domes over each source of fire. Cut-off from their source of oxygen, the flames gradually began to die out.

"Heh, see? Control! Now as I was saying…" the Turkish man tried to continue.

"That makes us all done over here Makkun," his partner reported to the Dane still on the radio, ignoring him without missing a beat.

"Great! I'll have you four join up with Ludwig and them then. While you guys were dealing with your problem, I had a quick word with him, and he told me Alice is running out of curse words and must be getting tired because she's hiding behind him again, and he can't handle Ivan by himself anymore since Chun Chun is in deadlock with a bunch of fairly adept close-quarters quirk users," the Dane relayed rather calmly despite the situation.

"…s-sure…" Arthur suddenly felt like he had it extremely easy.

"When all of you are done there, meet up with Ned and company. They'll probably have our escape route handled by then and Maddie and Gil should have found our target. I'll check in with all of you if Al and I need help," Mathias finished.

"I'm worried about Luffy and Ita-chan, but you WILL call us if you need help right?" the normally reserved Kumiko insisted.

"You too? You guys trying to raise my death flag or something?" the Dane gave a nervous chuckle.

"The plants are just so on edge…" the Japanese girl twiddled her fingers worriedly.

"The plants…yeah I've felt something off in the wind too. I'll be careful…just stop being so friendly with me or Ned might kick my ass again," the Dane's sunny laugh drifted over the radio.

"What's this? Do I have to go to war with Denmark?" the personification of Turkey lightly threatened.

"Oh would you look at that! Al finally caught up! Duel you later!" the sound of the Dane leaving the channel cut off Sadık's response.

"Did he do anything funny Honda-chi?" the Turkish man clasped his hands together and turned to his partner. Kumiko couldn't see his eyes behind his mask, but he knew they would be sparkling with overdramatic worried tears.

"Adnan-sama, the only thing Makkun has done is earn my respect. Now stop being such a drama queen. We have to catch up to Luffy and Ita-chan," the Japanese girl took command.

"Don't mind Kumiko-dear Monsieur Sadık," Francine jauntily approached the older man. "I'll take you up on your previous offer. Maybe you can teach me a couple lessons on control," the French woman twirled her finger suggestively across the Turkish man's chest.

"And now I'm going to throw up in my mouth," Arthur threw up his hands in frustration and dragged the flirtatious French woman off the now panicking Turkish nation. "Could you please focus for a moment and concentrate on the task at hand you cad? Wang and Braginsky are causing problems again. I don't need you adding to that mix!"

"Aw Iggy, are you jealous?" Francine wiggled her eyebrows at the increasingly fuming Englishman.

"For the love of…" Arthur could feel his fangs once again subconsciously protruding as his blood pressure rose. "Why the bloody hell would I be jealous of you climbing on someone like a goddamn human jungle gym? That's like a day-in-the-life with you!"

"Oh Iggy, you're so cute!" the taller French woman scooped her steaming partner into her arms, squishing him into her chest. "It's like watching an angry stuffed animal try to lecture you!"

Arthur struggled for air as he worked to get out of his touch-prone partner's arms.

"Put me down you blighter! You have no sense of shame! Adnan, do something!"

"Kumiko-chiiii, you're so cool when you take charge!" the Turkish man's voice sounded from a far ways off.

"Adnan-sama, you sound like one of my anime schoolgirls…" the Japanese girl responded with a small laugh from his side.

The two nations were already half-way to the nearest building by the time Arthur was able to squirm enough out of his partner's hold to turn around.

"Wait up! Don't leave me with this clingy tart!" he called after them. "Save me!"

* * *

"My, these people make great frozen sculptures. I wonder if some of them will let me try the vodka thing," Ivan chuckled lightly as he let go of yet another mutant quirk user now frozen solid in front of him.

"That's a little…gross isn't it?" Ludwig grimaced as the thought of the Russian merrily chilling his vodka in the skulls of one of the men passed through his mind as he slammed his fist into a multi-jointed quirk user.

"Is it?" the intimidating Russian man looked genuinely curious as he gracefully dodged the swipe of a spear-wielding long-legged man, grabbed the weapon, yanked him closer, and caught his forehead in his hand. Instantly, the man's skin began to turn an unnatural shade of blue and his screams were frozen in his throat as the remaining heat in his body was forcefully absorbed into the Russian's hand.

"Y-yes, definitely," Chun-yan felt a shiver run down her body even as she parried another blow from a fast-handed slim girl. Her partner put on a kind smile, but there was nothing on this planet she was more scared of.

"Chu, heads up!" the cheery voice of said partner snapped her out of her thoughts as the body of one of his frozen victims went whizzing past her head and slammed into the girl she had been fighting. It didn't shatter or anything; it's not like his quirk actually turned his victims into ice, but that didn't make it any less terrifying.

"Th-Thanks Ivan…" the young-looking but actually quite ancient Chinese girl shakily gave a thumbs up.

"Sorry Ludi…cursing is more my brother's thing, but I couldn't help it! They tried to break my arm! Not that it would work, but it's the concept of the matter!" Alice stalked over to her German partner's side as he finished planting another guy's face into the ground.

"They deserve it for that. You know it doesn't bother me," the iron body quirk user answered easily while hardening his leg and crashing it into the jaw of a sharp-toothed man. "But don't go running off on your own like that. It's dangerous."

"Ludi is so kind and strong," the northern Italian girl beamed. "Now if you could just beat up all of that…" Alice put a hand on the German's shoulder and turned him to face her side where she waved her hand in front of her as if presenting a crowd of people. And introducing a crowd of people she was.

Ludwig openly facepalmed as he took in the scene before him. The Italian girl had apparently attracted quite a crowd when she ran off, for over a dozen varying quirk users stood before him looking angrier than usual. Small bits of white bone could be seen sticking out of varying places on their bodies and some sported mean-looking gashes here and there.

"You know you could have probably finished them off if you really tried, right?" the German sighed from under his hand. "All you did was piss them off."

"I got tired," his Italian partner whined. "They got too tough…"

Ludwig gave another sigh as he readied himself for another fight. There was no sense in arguing. The Italian wouldn't listen to him anyways.

"Ivan, Chun-yan, Alice brought trouble again," he informed his teammates that had just finished off the last enemy on their side.

"Ah, maybe I can chill my vodka with one of these guys," the Russian smiled eerily.

"Oh boy…" the Chinese girl mumbled in dejected sarcastic excitement.

"That girl done pissed me off!" a man with scales around his eyes shouted at them from among the crowd. "Surrender and we might spare the rest of yous!"

"We'll gladly surrender and then all of us can walk away happily!" the Italian cheered while extending a long bone out of her hand and quickly tying a white cloth to the end of it. "See, peaceful surrender!"

"Nein! Put that thing away! Ugh…" the former fellow Axis member made a grab for the makeshift flag but missed. "She doesn't speak for all of us I assure you."

"West, Arschgeige, 8.1 seconds, flame breath," the German's brother's voice cut-in.

At the exact same time, the scaly-eyed man grinned menacingly and pointed at them.

"I didn't intend to let you all go anyways!" the scaly-eyed man growled before bending back and unleashing a torrent of flames from his mouth.

Instantly Ludwig turned his whole body iron and jumped in front of the northern Italian nation while Ivan leapt in front of his own partner and braced both hands in front of him. The flame crashed into them, but both easily stood their ground and waited for the man to run out of breath. Sure enough, the flame soon died down and the pair moved slightly to the sides to give their partners visual again. Ludwig's hero costume was slightly steaming, but other than that, he was completely unharmed. Ivan on the other hand was still smiling, but his hands were lightly charred and a slight amount of smoke was still emanating off of them.

"Oh no…" all three of the other hero nations thought at the same time as the temperature of the room quickly began to plummet.

"Serves you right!" the dragon-breath man jeered. "You should know better than to…"

Crack! Before he could even finish his sentence, Ivan's still smoking hand slammed into his face and jammed the back of his head into the ground. The man didn't even have time to scream as his body practically flash froze, his eyes wide in astonishment. The others that had been standing near the dragon-breath man barely had enough time to register what had just happened before they all jumped at the Russian's even but no less menacing words.

"I think I'll have this guy chill my vodka," the Russian smiled up at the people around him.

"G-get him!" a weird looking man with feathers on his arms exclaimed.

"I don't think so!" the Chinese girl ran over to join her partner and intercepted the group that had started charging at him.

Ivan's smile widened as another nearby tried to flank him when a sharpened bone still with a tiny white cloth attached to it impaled itself deep into his would-be-attacker's chest.

"If they weren't going to allow it, they should've said so in the first place! Geez! I'm tired…go Ludi!" the northern Italian cheered from behind the iron man.

"This is your fault in the first place; you should help," the German rolled his eyes as he ran forward and slammed into a pair that were eyeing their teammates.

Ivan gave a short chuckle before shaking his hands nonchalantly to eliminate some of the burn and kicking the body of the dragon breath man out of his way as he advanced on the rest of the group.

"I can't wait to see what kinds of blue you all turn," he grinned.

"Anyways, there's a group of rather tough looking fellows that just emerged from the main annex building," Tino's voice suddenly came in over the universal channel.

"Got it. Everyone, Al and I will handle this new group with Tino and Ed as coverage. I'm sending Sve and Nor to help out Maddie and Gil," Mathias soon followed.

There was a slight pause before the sound of the Dane's voice was directed to their group's channel.

"Yo, Ludwig, come in big fella," Mathias's jovial voice checked in.

"Ya, I'm here," the German half grunted as he caught a small rocket fired out of a man's shoulder and threw it back at him.

"How's the western area going?" the Dane questioned.

"Well, to summarize, Alice is finally running out of curse words after having lured a bunch of new quirk users to our location, Ivan is on a rampage, and Chun-yan is looking like she might actually have some tough opponents. To put it into detail, Alice is kind of tired and reverted back to her surrender mode. I don't think I'll be able to handle Ivan anymore. These guys really pissed him off. It doesn't seem to be anything she can't handle, but the tough opponents I mentioned Chun-yan's fighting seem to be fairly adept close-quarter combat quirk types," the German took inventory on their current situation as he ricocheted some bullets at a couple of people approaching Ivan's back who in turn grabbed his latest victim by the collar and chucked him across the room to slam into the man that had just shot at Ludwig. "It's getting cold in here…"

"Kakaka, sounds rough. I'll send Arthur's group your way then. Let me know if things go south," Mathias was about to sound out when Ivan suddenly cut-in.

"Daniya, no leaving me out if you need help dah? I will drag Chu with me and come to your rescue!" the Russian cheerfully assured.

"That's reassuring," the Dane said but sounded happily nervous. "Take care yourselves."

Their channel fell silent and Ludwig refocused on the task at hand. He caught a punch by a cat-like man and threw him towards the Russian who caught him with his left even as he held another guy's face in his right. Without missing a beat, Ivan spun and chucked both straight in the air. Instantly, two bone spears went soaring through the air, caught the two in the shirt collars, and pinned them to the back wall. The Italian huffed as she raised her fingers. She was going to make Ludwig carry her for sure after this. Without even a queue, Ivan, Ludwig, and Chun-yan all ducked as Alice unleashed a barrage of bone bullets from her fingertips. It threw the front liners off balance enough for Chun-yan to finally make an effective counterattack. The Chinese martial arts expert let a couple mutant-types slip into her slow field, slapped all their desperate attacks out of the way, and skillfully slipped among them hitting key pressure points. They fell wordlessly as Ludwig and Ivan floored two more a piece. It was all going smoothly until a sharp shout interrupted their routine.

"WEST! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Gilbert's terrified voice shot through all of their ears. "ALI! IVAN! CHUYA!"

Suddenly, an explosion occurred above them and the ceiling buckled and began to crumble. Ludwig barely had enough time to fully cloak himself in his own quirk before the entire building gave one last shudder and collapsed on top of them. Floor after floor came crashing down. Dust and debris clouded his vision and breathing was almost impossible. Even his quirk could only protect him against so much physical trauma, but he was barely worried about that. As more and more he was buried under layers of concrete, the only thing he could think about was if Alice, Ivan, and Chun-yan were alright. They may be nations, but there were things they experienced as nothing but humans.

It felt like hours before the roaring of the collapsing building finally stopped, even though it was probably only minutes. Ludwig coughed as the dust began to settle around him and adjusted his arms in the small space he had created as the debris had slid around him. Wasting no time, he felt for the slightest bit of draft and soon felt a large hole's worth a little to his right and above him. Twisting himself in his small space, he pulled back his arms as far as he could and activated the mechanical springs in his hero suit. Like a geyser suddenly exploding out of the earth, the rubble above him flew away like a fountain at the force of his punch. Scrambling before the debris could fall back into the hole he had just made, Ludwig burst from the rubble, taking several greedy gulps of air before quickly shooting his head around for any sign of his friends.

"L…Ludwig…" Chun-yan's voice was shaky and barely audible, but it didn't take the German long to locate the area of rubble that was slightly higher for an obvious reason. "H…Hurry…It's going to hit me soon."

Throwing caution to the wind, Ludwig bounded over, already activating his suit's springs again and hardening his arm. In one explosive swing, he blasted the top layer away in a large radius and quickly lifted the remaining pieces out of the way. The Chinese girl had her arms spread as wide as she could make them and Ludwig could see dust, pipes, and rubble alike suspended in the air in a much larger radius than the usual one foot Chun-yan's quirk normally encompassed. Below her feet lay the unconscious form of her Russian partner. Ludwig was about to reach down when the Chinese girl quickly raised her hand to stop him.

"H…hold on. I'm going to…release my expansion field…in a little. I'll throw him up," she coughed a little as she closed her eyes in concentration before the suspended debris suddenly began crashing around her and she grabbed the back of the much larger man's coat in one hand and easily threw him out of the hole. Ludwig hastily caught the unresponsive Russian and immediately, a large gash in the man's head began steadily leaking blood down his face as he was no longer in his partner's slow field. Unable to give the Russian his attention yet, Ludwig gently placed him on a solid piece of rubble and practically threw himself back into the hole to pull the tired Chinese girl out, but he didn't have to do much as the seasoned veteran had already jumped close to the top and simply grabbed his hand to hoist herself the rest of the way. Upon reaching the surface, she let herself collapse on the ground, coughing and spluttering for air as exhaustion took over.

"Is…Ivan alright?" Chun-yan managed between breaths.

Ludwig hurried over to the still unmoving Russian and nervously pressed his ear to the man's chest as he also hovered his hand above his mouth to check for breath. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt both labored breaths and a steady heartbeat. Unfortunately, it was not all good news. Several other large lacerations were appearing all over Ivan's body as blood flow that had been slowed was catching up with itself.

"He's alive, but he's not waking up and his body doesn't look too good," Ludwig grimaced as he attempted to stifle the bleeding of one of the larger gashes in Ivan's side.

"He's not…responding to anything?" Chun-yan worriedly flopped herself onto her stomach to get a better view.

"No," the German knitted his brow in worry as he gently tapped the Russian on the uninjured side of his face and called his name.

"I know something…that will probably work," the Chinese nation had dragged herself to her partner's side and sighed. "1960…" she mumbled.

"WAIT!"

Ludwig almost had a head to head collision as the Russian suddenly shot up into a sitting position, reaching out to invisible phantoms of his past. Ivan's light lavender eyes were thrown wide for only a slight moment before he quickly seemed to realize where he was and dropped his arm into his lap. He ran a hand through his hair and took a quick inventory of himself before abruptly pausing and hurriedly glancing between the German and his partner who was avoiding eye contact.

"Where's Ali?" he choked a little on the question as the dust in his throat hadn't been cleared yet.

Not questioning what had gotten such a reaction from the normally cheerily morbid Russian, Ludwig clenched his fists, frustration quickly replacing the relief he had felt at Ivan's awakening. He had been thinking of nothing but that ever since the building had started falling on them, but he had yet to see any sign of the carefree Italian girl.

"I…haven't been able to find her yet…" he grit his teeth on the final word.

The normally smug Russian was silent as he subconsciously held the large cut in his side. He spared a glance at his partner that was still refusing to look him in the eye and swiped some of the blood slowly trickling down his face to the side.

"Well, let's look for her then," he wobbled a little as he pushed himself to stand, blood dripping across the ground as he struggled to his feet. Ludwig looked at him both gratefully and worriedly as he straightened himself out. Chun-yan finally flicked her head to face him when she heard him trying to stand and weakly raised an arm to try to stop him.

"W…wait Ivan!" she pleaded. "You still need to let your body heal a little. You were using your quirk a lot earlier too and…"

"It is fine," the Russian smiled warmly. "I'll just splash some vodka on these scratches later. It is you that have pushed yourself is it not? You cannot stand dah?"

Ludwig sighed. There were only a handful of them that would call those scratches. He anxiously turned his attention to the worn Chinese girl, however, and his suspicions were confirmed. She HAD pushed herself too hard. It normally took help from Alfred for her to expand her slow field any further than its natural one foot radius, but she had forced it herself.

"N…no I can't," she let her arm fall dejectedly.

"See," Ivan knelt and placed a still slightly burned hand on his partner's head. "Thank you for protecting me Chu."

"…your…welcome," Chun-yan abashedly looked away, her cheeks on fire.

"You sure Ivan?" Ludwig looked over the Russian still dripping blood all over the place.

"Of course odnogruppnik," Ivan slapped the German on the back playfully. "You know how strong I am."

"…of course…" Ludwig grimaced as he acknowledged the Russian's words.

They were about to set out when a flurry of panicked voices suddenly burst through Emil's radio tower.

"WEST! IVAN! ALI! ITA-CHAN! MISS CHUN-YAN! MAIN DISH! MR. RUSSIA! LUDWIG!" everyone's voices were all shouting at the same time.

"Ach du meine Güte!" Ludwig hurriedly covered his ears against the flurry of noise from his fellow nations. "Quiet down! We're here!"

He tried to calm them down as even Ivan was grimacing slightly at the burst of noise.

"WEST! ARE YOU OK?" Ludwig's brother's voice was still panicky as the channel calmed down slightly.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get a hold of you sooner!" Emil apologized profusely. "Normally even dust and concrete wouldn't be a problem for me, but for some reason, I was having some problems reaching you!"

"It's fine Emil, really," Chun-yan cut in. "We're…in one piece for the most part."

"Brother, I am just fine," the German acknowledged the Prussian's worries. "I am probably the least damaged one here."

"Well, of course, that's West for ya!" Gilbert's mood took a seeming 180 as he got the confirmation from his brother. "How's Ali-chi?"

The German grew quiet at this, so Ivan took the initiative for him.

"That is the main problem we are having at the moment," the Russian nation sighed. "We cannot find her."

"WHAT?!" Gilbert's voice reverted right back to intense worry.

"She was tired as well. I'm a bit worried," Ivan continued.

"Ali is missing?!" the worried voice of Elizabeta joined the mix.

"We will be right there Luffy," the equally worried voice of Kumiko rushed.

"And how are you doing Main Dish?" Lucian directed back towards the Russian.

"Scratches," Ivan physically shrugged in response.

"Sounds delicious," the Romanian audibly licked his lips.

"Ali is in danger at the moment you deplorable vampire! How can you…" the Hungarian angrily shouted but was interrupted.

"I know Eliza-hun," the Romanian's voice was even. "Too Much Iron Content is well aware as well."

"S…sorry…I'm just worried…" Elizabeta apologized.

"You could just let me have a nice taste…" the luck vampire hummed suggestively.

"…deplorable…" the Hungarian huffed.

"I wish I had been there," the little voice of Erica tentatively changed the topic.

"I'm sure the female Vargas is fine," Basch reassured his little sister.

"Less worry, more finding. The three of you, back off. Al, I'm gonna need your help again. Tino, direct me," Mathias's commanding voice broke through the heavy atmosphere.

The Dane wasn't fooling around and wasted no time as the wind around them instantly began to pick up and Ludwig immediately grabbed the Russian's arm and gestured with his head towards Chun-yan still kneeling on the ground.

"No arguing right now," the German raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Raising an eyebrow in a mocking gesture himself, Ivan gently lifted the comparatively small-in-stature Chinese girl into his arms without a word and started running to the edge of the clearing created by the collapsed building.

"I'm expecting you to not let her fly away big guy!" the Dane called as Ludwig watched a concentrated twister begin to form around him.

He had no intention of doing such a thing. Focusing his center of gravity, he transformed his entire body into iron for as much weight as possible and jammed his fingers into the piece of rubble he was standing on. The twister quickly turned into a violent cyclone of roaring wind and he along with the rubble around him slowly began to rise into the air. The buildings still standing in the surrounding area began to groan and crack as the cyclone grew stronger and stronger. The German shot his eyes around, desperately trying to get a glimpse of his northern Italian partner.

"West! 10 o'clock!" his brother's voice buzzed in his ear.

Ludwig's eyes shot slightly to his left and instantly, he activated his suit's leg springs and leapt towards a collection of rubble with large white bones impaled through each of them and formed almost like a make-shift sphere. He saw the bones suddenly retract from the rubble and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the debris gradually began to drift apart and Alice could be seen hurriedly looking around in confusion as she floated higher and higher with the rest of the rubble. They locked eyes and tears began to form as a relieved smile spread across her face and she reached out to him. Ludwig caught her hand and pulled her in close against his chest as he found some footing on another piece of rubble and began leaping among the floating islands towards the edge where Ivan was pressed against the outside of a building with Chun-yan warily poking her head out the door.

"It's about time," Alice sniffled as she clung to her partner for dear life. "I was tired you know."

"Sorry I couldn't find you sooner…" Ludwig grit his teeth in frustration.

"No, it's fine. I was going to make you carry me anyways," the Italian girl wiped away her tears and smiled at him.

Ludwig flashed her a return smile for just a moment before snapping back to the task at hand. Pieces of glass and rock bounced off the German, but he made sure to fully cover the Italian girl clinging to his chest. When he finally arrived at the edge, the Russian shot out his hand and pulled the both of them into the building next to his worried partner.

"We're clear Daniya!" Ivan raised his voice over the roar of the cyclone.

In response, the roar slowly turned into a harsh gale and the whipping debris gradually began to settle and float softly to the ground. With one last effort, the cyclone completely dissipated and the remains of the collapsed building and a couple pieces that had broken off nearby buildings in the process let off a light rumble as they crumbled to the ground. For good measure, a calm breeze gently gathered all the resulting dust and blew it away over the nearby water.

"Impressive as always Daniya…" the Russian smiled.

"H…how is she?" Mathias sounded completely wiped as he checked back in.

"I'm here Dani," Alice's twinkling voice buzzed across the channel.

"Oh my God, I'm so glad!" Gilbert's overdramatic whimpering voice shook as he cried in relief.

"See, no need to panic," Lucian cockily pointed out.

"You're so lucky I'm too happy Ali is alright…" Elizabeta growled.

"Glad all of you are okay," Alfred's overly chipper voice tuned in. "Even you Ivan."

"Oh ho, must be nice to be messing around while your partner does all the work," the Russian's smug smile was almost audible over the radio.

"I helped too!" the American spluttered. "Maybe if you didn't get stuck in…"

"Don't escalate things Jones," Arthur's scolding voice interrupted.

"Ita-chan, I'm so glad you're safe!" Kumiko brought the conversation back. "Don't worry, we're almost there. We just passed the last warehouse. Arthur-san should be there first."

"Thank you everyone," Alice smiled.

Ludwig took this opportunity to get a better look at his partner. He expected to see a rather gruesome sight, but the grinning Italian girl was probably the healthiest looking one among them at the moment. The worst of it was limited to areas where her skin had been rubbed clean off, but nothing was bleeding as a distinct hard white layer was visible at each spot. She had put a regenerating layer of bone beneath her entire skin to protect her as well as preventing any further damage by impaling larger falling debris and stopping their momentum. He sometimes forgot how strong Alice was when she tried. He knew though that she was as out of it as Chun-yan. Her energy would have been all but completely spent after pulling off a feat like that when she was already tired. Sure enough, she had not tried to get up the entire time.

* * *

"I'm so relieved Maddie!" Gilbert shook his partner like a ragdoll.

"Gil! Shush! You're lucky I pulled us into this closet before this all happened!" Maddie growled under her breath. "We still have a job to do, remember?"

"But I was worried Maddie. I couldn't help it," the Prussian pouted.

"You think I wasn't? I almost went bald out of worry," the Canadian girl whispered sharply. "Now come on. The faster we get this done, the faster we get to meet back up with everybody. Don't you get that?"

"I'm so lucky to have you around," Gilbert threw his arms around his partner.

"I know," Maddie barely reacted as she carefully opened up the closet door with the Prussian still clinging to her as they were about to get back to business when Gilbert tensed again. "What is it now Gil?"

"N…Noumu…" Gilbert's eyes widened in horror. "Noumus!" the Prussian shouted across the channels.

* * *

"Noumus?! Why would Noumus be…AAAUUUUUUUGGH!" Emil was interrupted when a splitting headache suddenly erupted deep in his skull. The pain quickly became so intense that his vision started to become white and all he could hear was harsh ringing and static. He could feel blood begin to trickle out of his ears and eyes and he knew he would no longer be able to connect everybody.

"ICE!" the four other Nordic nations all shouted at the same time.

"Emil! Emil-kun! Bite-size! Little one!" the others immediately followed.

"I'm sorry!" Emil clung to the last remnants of his signal. "I can't…"

"It's ok Ice! Let us go! We'll be…" Mathias's last words were cut off as Emil couldn't hold the signal any longer.

"I know brother…" the Icelandic Nordic gripped his still throbbing head and lowered his antenna as he wiped some of the blood away from his eyes. He would move and try to reestablish a signal.

/-/

* * *

I do not speak all these languages. I tried my best to do plenty of research beforehand, but there's nothing like knowing them from a native standpoint, so I'm sorry if there are errors.

Translations and notes:

[Japanese] Makkun – Japan's nickname for Denmark that comes from the Japanese pronunciation of Denmark + "-kun"

[Italian] Che cavolo! – "What cabbage!" Italians seem to use a lot of food to insinuate an insult.

[Italian] Torna qui stronzino! – "Get back here asshole!" The "-ino" ending is used to make your cursing a little more playful, but you're still cursing haha.

[Finnish] "Ta-san" which would actually be Tanska, is the Finnish way of saying Denmark. Ta-san is only because of the Japanese take on a nickname, but I thought it was too cute not to keep.

[Swiss German] Wixer – wanker – masturbator. I think it is cool that Switzerland has four national languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. It makes sense considering their location.

[Italian] Non ho finite con voi ancora bastardo! – "I'm not done with you yet bastard!" I'm sure there is a much more native way of saying this.

[English] Pillock – idiot

[Icelandic] Ég hata ykkur öll – "I hate you all." I'm sure this is probably wrong or has a different implication than the level I intended.

[Swedish] Remouladsås – the Swedish way of saying Remoulade; they use both French and Danish style, but, in the Danish case which he is referring to here, it is a mild, sweet-sour tasting medium yellow sauce used on dishes such as smørrebrød, a Danish open sandwich.

[Danish] Sverige – Sweden in Danish

[Japanese] Anko – it is a dialect of northern Japan for "older brother;" It is Norway's nickname for Denmark and I kept it because it is adorable.

[Norwegian] Norge – Norge is actually a fan nickname for Norway but has its roots in that it is how you write Norway in Norwegian Bokmål. I just think it's cute…ok, I kept a lot of things because I thought they were cute.

[Danish] For fanden Remoulade! – "For fuck's sake Remoulade!" He is blaming his happiness on the Danish version of the condiment.

[French] Branleur – wanker; This is probably not a common French swear. I don't really know, but I picked it because I feel, at this moment, France would be trying to get a two-for-one and insult the UK in her own language while referring to one of his words.

[French] Monsieur – Mister

[German] Nein – No

[German] Arschgeige – Prussia is calling Russia an ass violin. After WWII, when Germany was split, the territories east of the Oder-Neisse line which was the heart of the remains of the Prussian empire which was already in decline were incorporated into Poland and the Soviet Union. Most of the Prussian inhabitants were expelled and the Soviet Union renamed Prussia's once capital of Königsberg to Kaliningrad. As part of the Allied Control Council, Russia was a key player in passing Law no. 46 on February 25, 1947 which proclaimed the abolition of Prussia under the pretext of his violent military history.

[Russian] Daniya (Дания) – Denmark

1960 – a major year that was part of the beginning of the Sino-Soviet split when the USSR and China were ideological enemies and had incredibly deteriorated political relations

[Russian] Odnogruppnik (одногруппник) – translated literally as "group mate," it is how you would refer to a male class mate at a university

"You know how strong I am." – Russia is referring to WWII here. Although the USSR suffered some of the heaviest losses over the course of the war, 80% of the German Army's military deaths were incurred in the Eastern Front.

[German] Ach du meine Güte! – an expression similar to "My God!"

There's a lot more to their quirks than just the base power, like their downsides, limitations, limit-breaks (if America is there to use his power), but I'm not going to go into all that here. There will be times and places.

* * *

List of names, hero names, quirk names, and basic quirk descriptions for the countries appearing in this story (and yes Estonia was in it, just not directly mentioned yet because he was busy and only talked during the beginning dialogue):

 **Denmark – Mathias Kholer [Wind Waker] – "Air Controller"**

[Emitter] Control over the element of wind

 **America – Alfred F. Jones [Limit Breaker] – "Augmentation"**

[Emitter] Can make 1 aspect of whatever he touches greater

 **Canada – Maddie Williams [+1] – "Invisibility"**

[Emitter] Anything she touches or is herself she can make invisible

 **Prussia – Gilbert Bellschmidt [Awesome 10] – "10 Second Premonition"**

[Emitter] Usually only erratically sees random things that will happen in the next 10 seconds, but it can be focused as in times of battle

 **United Kingdom – Arthur Kirkland [Animagus] – "Wolf Contract"**

[Transformation] No connections to werewolf legend, he can morph various parts of his body to that of a wolf as well as take on full wolf form and has a highly attuned sense of smell and hearing and is naturally extremely agile and strong

 **France – Francine Bonnefoy [Wild Fire] – "Combustion"**

[Emitter] Can make her molecules vibrate on such an intense frequency that it causes enough friction to catch whatever she is touching or even the air on fire

 **Japan – Kumiko Honda [Mother Nature] – "Plant Specialist"**

[Emitter] Can accelerate the growth of plants to absurd levels to the point of growing forests

 **Turkey – Sadık (Sah-duhwk) Adnan [Ottoglass] – "World of Glass"**

[Emitter] Can manipulate glass, stretch it, flatten it, bend it, etc.; he cannot create it.

 **N. Italy – Alice (Ah-lee-che) Vargas [White Flag] – "Bone Type Next"**

[Emitter] Has full control over her bones, able to shoot them out of her fingertips and use them like a shield or weapon; she has extremely fast healing to keep up with her quirk

 **Germany – Ludwig Diefenbach [Iron Giant] – "Iron Body"**

[Transformation] Can harden individual parts or his entire body into iron

 **Russia – Ivan Braginsky [Absolute Zero] – "Ice Age"**

[Emitter] Generally absorbs the heat out of the 5 foot area around him; if he touches you with his bare hands, he can suck all the heat out of you and you will freeze to death

 **China – Wang Chun-Yan [Time Capsule] – "Slow Field"**

[Emitter] In a field that radiates in a small 1 foot distance from all parts of her body, she can slow anything to a crawl

 **Iceland – Emil Steilsson [Radiohead] – "Radio Tower"**

[Mutant] Has antenna-like protrusions that stick out the top of his head that he can use to tap into various types of signal and radio waves or send out a signal of his own; can become kind of like a powerful relay station and acts like a 100% safe communications method for the LHN

 **Netherlands – Tim Jansen (Yahn-sen) [Sailsman] – "Fish Man"**

[Mutant] Part fish; he has gills and regular lungs which he can switch in between depending on if he's on land or sea; unlike Arthur's "Wolf Contract," he does not morph and constantly has webbing on his hands and feet and fins on his elbows and back

 **Finland – Tino Väinämöinen [Pinpoint] – "Eagle Eye"**

[Mutant] Incredibly acute vision to the point where he can pinpoint a pin lying on a table half a mile away; as a result, he is an incredible sniper

 **Estonia – Eduard von Bock [AR] – "Augmented Reality"**

[Emitter] When he looks at things through his glasses, he can selectively see all their stats hovering next to them complete with breakdowns and histories; it does not reveal quirks, but he can deduce their threat level; if he's looking at words or a sign, he can bring that object into reality on the sign or word in whatever size he wants for only as long as he's looking at it

 **Romania – Lucian (Loo-shahn) Ardelean [Vamp] – "Luck Snatcher"**

[Emitter] If he sucks the blood of someone, he steals their luck, making them extremely unlucky for the next 15 minutes and him extremely lucky for the same; the blood must be drawn with his fangs but even a tiny drop is enough

 **Hungary – Elizabeta Héderváry [Enchantress] – "Attraction Aroma"**

[Emitter] Can emit an incredibly alluring aroma from her skin that attracts men and women alike and makes them easier to manipulate depending on their willpower

 **Switzerland – Basch Zwingli [Neutral Blade] – "Swiss-army Knife"**

[Transformation] Can manipulate his skin and even his hair to form all kinds of blades and a variety of metal objects

 **Austria – Roderich Edelstein [Maestro] – "Musical Influence"**

[Emitter] Influences people and things around him via music that he can create out of the air as if physically manifesting the instruments; his influence can be so great, even inanimate objects will sometimes move to his music's whims

 **Liechtenstein – Erica Vogel [Little Blocker] – "Tri-Point Barrier"**

[Emitter] Whatever she can visibly see through the triangle she forms with her hands, she can form an incredibly strong barrier around or in front of in the shape of a triangle or pyramid; the pyramid spreads the strength of the barrier more; the smaller the size, the stronger the barrier

 **Norway – Lukas Bondevik [Phantom] – "Ghost Form"**

[Emitter] Can become intangible, fly in ghost form, and possess objects, plants, and animals; possessing a human is extremely risky and difficult

 **Sweden – Berwald Oxenstierna [Purgatorium] – "Pain Transference"**

[Emitter] Left hand absorbs pain into him while his right hand releases his pain into another; both hands at the same time causes a counter shock to the body like a severe electric shock as the nerves freak out over what signal to send; the science has more to do with nerve signals rather than the concept of "pain" itself, but for simplicity's sake, we'll just leave it here


End file.
